Rental Cars in Norway

Hi,

DH and I are taking the the Pride cruise to North Cape in August and wondered if anyone had any experience with hiring a car in either Tromso, Olden or Svolvaer.

Jean

Hi, DH and I are taking the the Pride cruise to North Cape in August and wondered if anyone had any experience with hiring a car in either Tromso, Olden or Svolvaer. Jean

We did three different rental cars during our trip last summer along the Norway coastal areas. This included at Alesund, on the Lofoten Islands and near the North Cape. Many of these town are not large, but there are options there. You can do a Google search with the town name and the phrase rental car, etc. Below from my live/blog, you can see many details for what we did in these areas. We visited Tromso, but not Olden.

We really super loved the Lofoten Islands. Below are a few pictures from these wonderfully scenic areas. We traveled with another couple, making driving/navigating easier, plus spreading the costs among four people worked well. In some cases, a ship tour might also work well. Much depends on what you are seeking to do, explore, etc. Let me know any specific questions. Here are some added items of info on Svolvaer and Tromso.

Svolvær offers the atmosphere of a harbor, small town and art community simultaneously. The town has become something of an artists’ colony, attracted by its great “light”. It has picturesque cabins on stilts and weathered wooden racks with drying cod. Considered as the capital of the Lofoten Islands, it is on the south coast of Austvågøy, facing the open sea to the south with mountains immediately to the north. The most famous mountain, Svolværgeita, was first climbed in 1910 and has its goat-like horns. It is 1,867 feet high. The town population is 4,400. The rugged and bleak countryside around Svolvær has attracted both tourists and artists, one of whom is Karl Erik Harr, whose paintings feature scenes of the area. His most famous painting, "The Battle of Trollfjord" and can be seen in the County Hall. The towering island mountains of the Lofoten Wall stretch for more than a hundred miles along Norway's coast. Sheltered by the mountains to the north and west, the Svolvær area has less fog and experiences somewhat higher daytime temperatures in summer than the western part of Lofoten, but the same mountains also create more precipitation on rainy days. Its cod fishing season is between January and April. These age-old, sea-going traditions are preserved along with some of the fishing wharf buildings. Latitude: 68.2333°

Tromso: With 63,500 people, it is the seventh largest city in Norway and the largest in its northern area. It is known as the “Paris of the North”, is 186 miles north of the Arctic Circle and is located on an island. The city center of Tromsø contains the highest number of old wooden houses in northern Norway, the oldest house dating from 1789. The Arctic Cathedral, a modern church from 1965, is probably the most famous landmark in Tromsø. Its east wall is composed entirely of stained glass. The Polar Museum is situated in a wharf house from 1837, presents Tromsø's past as a center for Arctic hunting and starting point for many major Arctic expeditions. You are standing on a forest-covered island in a narrow sound, hemmed in by soaring mountains. A cable car travels up to the top of Mt. Storsteinen at 1,260 feet for views of the town, islands, mountains and water. The Polaria Arctic Center has sea life displays, an aquarium of marine life and trained seals. Its main street is Storgata with the town square opening onto the harbor. There is a daily open-air market selling flowers and crafts. Its two best dining places are Arctandria and Compagniet. Emm’a Drommekjokken get super high marks and is across from Tromso’s cathedral.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our last July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 41,320 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

As we departed Svolvaer in the Lofoten Islands on a perfect, sunny day, these are two of the green, tree-covered mountains rising up from the sea that we saw with the small out-islands in the foreground.:

We went to the end of the road in the Lofoten Islands. This is a charming village called “A”. In their alphabet, this “A” has a small “o” above the letter. Simple name for a charming fishing town. We had box lunches from the ship and dined on a picnic table on the wooden dock. This was our view with the busy and noisy birds.:

More rocks and dramatic scenery in the Lofoten Islands when we did our DIY drive south and then back on the Lofoten Islands. Nice?:

Taking the cable car up to the top of Mt. Storsteinen at 1,260 feet provides great views of the town, islands, mountains and water. With our mid-day weather so sunny, it really helped enjoy this city in such a great setting.:

Going down into Gjesvaer, near the North Cape, here was a harbor scene/mountain scene. At the bottom right are some of the wooden fish drying racks. Second is a picture more from water level up to the mountains hanging over the water, a boat in the harbor, birds in the sky, etc.:

Great pictures, TCLOhio. We, too, loved the Lofoten though we took a ship's (Regent Voyager) tour.

All the big car hire companies are represented in Tromsoe both in town and at the airport. Like most things in Norway, they tend to be expensive.

Great pictures, TCLOhio. We, too, loved the Lofoten though we took a ship's (Regent Voyager) tour. All the big car hire companies are represented in Tromsoe both in town and at the airport. Like most things in Norway, they tend to be expensive.

Things are costly in Norway. Our car rental costs varied much. It wasn't too bad in pricing for Alesund and near the North Cape. Very costly on the Lofoten Islands. Taxes and labor costs are high in Norway. BUT, thanks to their big oil profits, they have NO NATIONAL DEBT in that country and a big "Sovereign Fund" or savings account.

THANKS for the nice comments on the pictures! Give credit to Mother Nature for the great beauty in that country. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our last July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 41,345 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Thanks so much for the info, we have arranged a car in Lofoten and will be doing a lot of walking in the other ports. Sorry to take so long to adknowledge your replies but we are currently remodelling so CC has taken a back seat.

J

SurfersGirsl,

I think we are on the same cruise( Aug 7 15-day Fjords cruise). Hope we can meet up on board. Cross your fingers for warm sunny weather!

Hi Chairsin,We managed to add this cruise in so that we can get over some of the stress of the remodelling. We're hoping for sunny days too but we will have packed some cold weather gear too since we finish off the trip in Budapest in October.Hoping we can catch up-just look for a stressed out blonde with a glass in her hand at the Sky Bar after lifeboat drill

Jean

SurfersGirl,

Nothing like a Seabourn cruise to recover from remodeling stress.

I'll be the other blond at the Sky bar after lifeboat drill, champagne glass in hand.

Directing this to Terry

Any guidance re best (as in best location from ship) car agencies to rent from in Narvik, Tromso, Honningsvag, Trondheim, Alesund, or Eidfjord. Planning the cruise in June 2015 on the Prisendam. Any suggestions most appreciated.

Below is an excerpt from a post of mine in the "Tour/activity recommendations for Norway cruise?" thread from late December.

Svolvaer (Lofoten) - RENT A CAR! So glad we did (walked over to Avis and got the last one. Suggest renting this ahead of time to ensure you can get one.) We drove to the Lofotr Viking Museum & Henningsvær fishing village ourselves and the countryside here is absolutely stunning. In fact we did a full loop from Svolvaer to Leknes to see as much as possible. Get an early start as it does take some time (particularly the 815 southern route). We got back in the nick of time for the last tender. Also try to get your hands on some brown goat cheese here (aka "Gjetost" although there are other spellings). We bought some at Lofotr gift shop, but apparently there's a local farm nearby (stocks the gift shop) that you can visit.

Here's the Avis info:

Avis Bilutleie Svolvær

Avisgata 11

8301 Svolvær

 

...

 

Honningsvag - Forget doing the ship excursion when you can rent a car yourself and explore at your own pace! We walked off the pier to a nearby stand. They're actually rented from the folks who own the nearby gas station who were lovely. We spoke to the mother at length at the end of the day about life in Honningsvag. There was also an Avis I believe, with a big poster announcing themselves visible from the ship but we couldn't ever find them. Drove to the North Cape and also out to a small village called Gjesvær. If you can't rent ahead of time try to be one of the first off to snatch up a car.